Eight teenagers who traveled from Crete to the UK on holiday tested positive for the coronavirus.

The boys boarded Wise Air 617 flight from Heraklion to Luton Airport on 25 August.

The airline said there were 212 passengers on board but they “informed the relevant health authorities”.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Services said he was aware of the situation and was advising victims to self-destruct.

The teenagers from Hampshire Winchester were part of a group of 12 people on board the flight and spent 10 days in Crete.

Shortly after returning to the UK, they were contacted by friends on vacation from Estonia, who said they had tested positive when returning home.

Damien Stafford, whose 18-year-old son tested positive, said his family had not contacted the NHS test-trace system.

“We just had to rely on the vented British common sense and we had to act on our own without any help from the authorities and what we are clearly doing is self-isolation,” he said.

“The track and trace system doesn’t have to beat the world, it just has to work, and it obviously doesn’t at the moment.”

The Department of Health and Social Care emphasized that the system was effective

It states: “Millions of people are being tested every day and to ensure that we are in control of the virus, our testing capabilities are being targeted in our most critical areas, including those where there is an outbreak and the priority risk groups.”

Wise Air said in a statement: “The airline has now notified the relevant health authorities in England who are responsible for communicating and advising the 204 other passengers on board.

“Wiz Air operates all flights in compliance with local travel regulations and the safety of passengers and crew is the number one priority.”

Last month, a flight from Zante to Grant Island after a positive test for a 16-passenger Covid-19 on a TOM6215 flight to Cardiff left about 200 people with self-isolation.